It seems that over in the US both sides are entrenched. This whole episode shows that it is very hard for either to get their point across – everyone has their fingers in their ears when it comes to debating.

I genuinely understand both sides. It can be frustrating when you know that ‘health tourists’ visit the country to take advantage of free health care, and the waiting lists for certain procedures can be long. It is also true that some expensive, less effective medicines are not made available. On the other hand, I have had operations on the NHS and receive medication, and my dad (who has Parkinson’s) gets very expensive drugs for free to treat it. He has contributed all his life into the NHS, and they look after him well.

To my mind, the problem with the US system is that profit, not the care of the sick, is the driving motive. That means that people who can afford to pay get superb treatment, but those who cannot take a big risk with their health should they fall ill. I don’t see too many people unable to afford health insurance defending the American system.

However, it is not for me to judge. American society has different values to my own, and I respect both sides of the argument.

And then jails the doctors.
Damn shame.
Califemme on July 17

Jezz, such an easy solution.

Just turn the jails into hospitals!

We can put the IRS in there as well so that each and every doctor has 3 IRS agents monitoring them 7/24/365!

The 3 IRS agents would have to be “live in” as in the same “cell”.

Of coerce we would also need 2 “political officers” to ensure the 3 IRS agents tow the “party line”, oops, I mean proper correct “tone”.

Along with the proper number of “sub-czars” to make sure every thing just hums right along!

All will have to live in the jails of coerce, but as you will see that’s not a problem.

This model WILL work with EVERY job/thing you can think of!
No more problems, no more crime!

With just a little Preemptive incarceration cuz we know they are ALL thinking about committing crimes!

See! all problems solved!

Ain’t it great!

I guess that means Mormons aren’t required to back up other Mormons…

Very funny

Beck is doing more than ANYONE to expose acorn, and SEIU and the IG’s etc. What is the deal here?

I do not think these 2 should be at odds with each other. Save the real bullets for the enemy Levin and Beck is not it.

I insure my family’s health through a Cobra policy right now but must find new coverage in three months because the company we’re buying coverage from is not approved by the state to provide independent policies. It is the best coverage I’ve ever had – access to best doctors and specialists, somewhat expensive but I chose no co-pays and a low deductible. Now, when I go to MassCare site and look through options, based on our income the same coverage thresholds cost $500 more (so $1750) a month with co-pays of $20/$200 ER. If my income we under 70K, I could get this same policy for $650 a month. Under 50K, $150 a month. Oh, and I checked this all out a year ago and premiums for the upper income levels went up 15%, lower levels 0%. Any wonder why the system is going broke? Could it be because all those people who found out they were paying more for coverage through their employers voluntarily switched? (But that won’t happen at eh Federal level, noooo. Private insurance is completely safe.) And many of these new customers do qualify for a subsidized policy, paid for by those that don’t but still the government has to pay a heavy price. So now we’re booting people out of the program and the state is being sued by a hospital for not paying enough. The kicker – I got a call this week from the bureaucrat who has been advising me about which policy to choose and he says “Ready to sign up?” Think they need my money or what?

I had a conversation with my doctor the other day and she’s fed up – fed up with having to live here, raise children, pay taxes, work 50 hour weeks, deal with all the paperwork, pay rent, pay for insurance – all the while struggling more and more each year to make ends meet. IMO – she is an excellent doctor, has helped me immensely and deserves to be well compensated for her dedication, her knowledge and her time. How many doctors will have a ten minute conversation with a patient about politics, universal healthcare, insurance and vaccines for pre-teen girls? We should all be having this conversation with our doctors – let them know we support them – especially since the AMA does not.

Nope. That would be Noam Chomsky.

Would that be the same noam chomsky who has gotten wealthy cashing defense department paychecks for the last 40 years and who owns homes in gated exclusive white communities? The noam chomsky who doesn’t leave his office unless someone pays him alot of money to give speaches to rooms full of morons? The noam chomsky who wants people to pay him money for quoting from his books even in articles that are favorable to him? Would it be that man of the people you are referring to?

MadisonConservative on July 17, 2009 at 11:51 PM

That’s funny, I was thinking of your verbal sparring partner this morning. Seldom see a post anymore and he is greatly missed. I am sure he will show if he feels your getting too full of yourself.

RobertInLexington on July 18, 2009 at 8:09 AM

Conservative talk show hosts should not bash each other at any time. They are preaching the same message but with different styles, which is necessary for the increase of listeners.

Congratulations my friend, I knew you would eventually make the front page if you just stuck with it…

Nicely done MC, great post. I have sent this post to everyone on my favorite list.

Jeez, how’d ya like to me that woman right about now… Logic and facts seemed to have escape her lil brain.

Without that, you get a perpetually reducing standard as to what any and all is that’s provided to everyone by the “state”.

Innovation is what establishes new treatments and innovation is only possible with any frequency when people are “free” to pursue individual rewards, to…INNOVATE.

Socialism does not reward innovation, it rewards (well, not really, but funds) standardization, absence of innovation, and, eventually, fascism which is all of that “efficiently” summarized.

You’d be better off telling a spoiled child why they can’t have whatever they want.

And that lady caller with her example of “France” (“anyone from any country can walk in and receive care,” she said, something close to that) is reflective of her expectations: that she should have anything she wants without any individual effort to receive it.

If the Obama plan and this lady’s ideas get implemented, we will sooner than later have men/woman/anyone throwing a chicken around in the air over our heads, chanting some sort of bones-stones-boombah at us and then downing a fifth of Vodka and rolling around on the floor and deeming us “clean” afterward: “doctor,” the Obama Healthcare Doctor of Clean Czar!

Mark can attack Savage all day long and I wouldn’t care, but I would like to understand why he detests Beck so much. He is really coming off sounding jealous and envious of Beck’s success.

RobertInLexington on July 18, 2009 at 8:09 AM

I hold it against any of our talk show hosts who attack our others, whether it’s Levin attacking Beck or Savage attacking Rush/Hannity. Fighting each other is the last thing we need, and I don’t want to hear it.

Come to think of it, I don’t remember hearing Rush ever attack another conservative host. Or Hannity either, for that matter.

His talent is his voice and his rhetorical ability to express his points and he does this with great, uh, ‘enthusiasm’. I would never describe that as “losing it,” however.

The lady caller HAD lost it, quite seriously. When pushed, even modestly, she lapsed over into cursing at Beck, calling him names, ridiculing his family members for Heaven’s sake, then went off into space about how “you” (meaning the nation) “doesn’t care about the trillions of dollars…” yaddayaddabankingindustryyaddayadda…”

She had all the Leftwing talking points down but obviously had never thought any of them through to any specificity that she could present a supportable argument.